INDIA GENERAL ELECTION

Govt asks Gandhi to respond to row over citizenship		SC seeks EC response on MCC violations by  Modi, Amit
India’s government yesterday asked opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to respond to claims that he is a British citizen as the country’s fiercely contested election battle took a bizarre twist. The home ministry wrote to the Congress party leader and scion of the famed Nehru-Gandhi dynasty after a deputy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party accused Gandhi of lying about his nationality. Gandhi was told to provide a “factual” reply on his citizenship. India does not allow dual nationality and only Indian citizens can contest elections. The complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Subramanian Swamy repeats long-standing claims that Gandhi recorded himself as British twice in annual returns filed by a now-defunct British company in which he was a director. The company, Backops Limited, was registered in 2003 and filed for dissolution in 2009. Swamy has been demanding since 2015 that Gandhi be stripped of Indian citizenship as well as his parliamentary seat. A Congress spokesman dismissed the allegation against Gandhi as “malicious”. “The entire world knows that he (Gandhi) is an Indian citizen by birth.... there is no truth in the allegation,” Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters.  Gandhi, whose mother Sonia is Italian-born and whose father was the assassinated prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, has in turn called on Swamy to substantiate his claims with documentary proof. AFP, New Delhi		The Supreme Court yesterday sought response of the Election Commission on a plea by a Congress MP alleging Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah on their alleged hate speeches and using armed forces for “political propaganda”. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the poll panel was free to pass orders on complaint of Sushmita Dev, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Silchar in Assam and President of ‘All India Mahila Congress’.  The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, fixed Dev’s plea for hearing on Thursday. Dev has alleged that “inaction” by EC on complaints against top BJP leaders was “a sign of invidious discrimination” as also “arbitrary, capricious and impermissible” as it was destructive of the integrity of electoral process. The plea listed out several alleged instances of MCC violations by Modi and Shah in their meetings and referred to as the first violation the speech of Modi at a rally at Wardha, Maharashtra, on April 1 where he had allegedly raised the issue of ‘bhagva aatankwad’ (saffron terror).         THE TIMES OF INDIA, New Delhi

 

 

INDIA GENERAL ELECTION

Govt asks Gandhi to respond to row over citizenship SC seeks EC response on MCC violations by Modi, Amit Indias government yesterday asked opposition leader Rahul Gandhi to respond to claims that he is a British citizen as the countrys fiercely contested election battle took a bizarre twist. The home ministry wrote to the Congress party leader and scion of the famed Nehru-Gandhi dynasty after a deputy of Prime Minister Narendra Modis ruling party accused Gandhi of lying about his nationality. Gandhi was told to provide a factual reply on his citizenship. India does not allow dual nationality and only Indian citizens can contest elections. The complaint by Bharatiya Janata Party lawmaker Subramanian Swamy repeats long-standing claims that Gandhi recorded himself as British twice in annual returns filed by a now-defunct British company in which he was a director. The company, Backops Limited, was registered in 2003 and filed for dissolution in 2009. Swamy has been demanding since 2015 that Gandhi be stripped of Indian citizenship as well as his parliamentary seat. A Congress spokesman dismissed the allegation against Gandhi as malicious. The entire world knows that he (Gandhi) is an Indian citizen by birth.... there is no truth in the allegation, Randeep Singh Surjewala told reporters. Gandhi, whose mother Sonia is Italian-born and whose father was the assassinated prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, has in turn called on Swamy to substantiate his claims with documentary proof. AFP, New Delhi The Supreme Court yesterday sought response of the Election Commission on a plea by a Congress MP alleging Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violations by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah on their alleged hate speeches and using armed forces for political propaganda. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi said the poll panel was free to pass orders on complaint of Sushmita Dev, Congress Lok Sabha MP from Silchar in Assam and President of All India Mahila Congress. The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul and K M Joseph, fixed Devs plea for hearing on Thursday. Dev has alleged that inaction by EC on complaints against top BJP leaders was a sign of invidious discrimination as also arbitrary, capricious and impermissible as it was destructive of the integrity of electoral process. The plea listed out several alleged instances of MCC violations by Modi and Shah in their meetings and referred to as the first violation the speech of Modi at a rally at Wardha, Maharashtra, on April 1 where he had allegedly raised the issue of bhagva aatankwad (saffron terror). THE TIMES OF INDIA, New Delhi